


Only One Regret

by Iamsherlocked67



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Best Friends, Love, Retirement, Wistful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:47:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22721212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamsherlocked67/pseuds/Iamsherlocked67
Summary: Patrick and Jonny are getting their numbers retired!
Relationships: Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Only One Regret

**Author's Note:**

> Watched the Sedins’ get their numbers retired and it make me think of 1988. Sorry because this is completely indulgent.

January 18, 2028

Being back at the UC isn’t as odd as Jonny thought it would be. At the end of the 2025-2026 season, Jonny had hung up his skates. Surprisingly, it wasn’t his head that caused him to retire, but his knee. After multiple surgeries, Jonny just knew that the strength wasn’t there anymore and since he liked being able to walk, he knew it was time. Patrick had retired at the end of the previous season, but being Showtime, he retired after the Hawks won their fifth cup since 2007. It was Patrick’s wrist, the one he had surgery on during the 20-teens, that ended his career early. The Blackhawks had wanted to honor Patrick during the following season, but Patrick was clear—any career tributes needed to wait until Jonny had retired as well. Jonny and Patrick had a conversation about that once but Patrick was firm and told Jonny he wouldn’t change his mind. Jonny dropped it but secretly, he was touched.

But, tonight was the night. 19 and 88 were being raised to the rafters and all that were near and dear to the duo were either in the stands or on the ice tonight waiting to honor them. How they agreed to let Sharpy give the keynote was beyond him. Jonny just hoped that Sharpy wouldn’t tell any of the stories that he certainly could. He really wanted to walk out of there with a shred of dignity. 

He knew that his mom, dad and brother were there, as well as his wife, Kayla, and their three sons. Patrick’s family was there, too—mother, father, sisters and his wife, Sarah, with their three girls. In keeping with everything they do, they had gotten married over the same summer and each of their children were born months apart. Their teammates just loved to chirp them over that.

Patrick comes into the locker room in mid-conversation with a Hawks PR executive. But when he sees Jonny, he stops and breaks into a big smile. 

“Tazer! I think we should dance out onto ice when we are introduced. We can do the dance Sarah and I did when were introduced at my wedding!” Patrick says.

“No” Jonny replies in a voice that used to end arguments.

Apparently, it still does, because Patrick just frowns and turns to Mark, the harried PR exec. “How much time do we have before we go out?” he asks.

Mark looks at his watch and says “Between 10-15 minutes”

“Perfect” Patrick replies. “Taze and I need a few minutes to work on our speech”

Jonny looks at Patrick quizzically but catches on quickly. “Yeah. C’mon Pat, let’s go in the trainer’s room.”

Patrick agrees and tells Mark they will be back.

They head into the trainer’s room and shut the door. For a moment they look at each other and then they burst into laughter.

“What the fuck, Jonny? Are they really retiring our numbers? Like, all our dreams, everything we talked about when we were 19 actually came true.” Patrick says.

“I know! What they hell are they thinking?” Jonny shakes his head.

Patrick is quiet for a minute, looking around the room. “God, how much I hated this room! Being in here either meant i was hurt or we were screaming at each other.”

Jonny agrees and asks “How many times did we fight in here?”

“Ummmm, how many home games did we have? Multiply that by at least two and you will have your number!”

Jonny clears his throat and begins “Pat, um, I wanted...”

Patrick interrupts him and says “Stop. Jonny, you can’t, not now. I can’t go out there crying.”

Jonny starts again “I don’t want to make you cry, but i need to say this now. Everything that I accomplished in this uniform, I couldn’t have done it without you. And, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it without you.”

Patrick’s blue eyes are filled with tears but he is able to hold them back. “Jonny, i feel the same way. It was always Toews and Kane, Kane and Toews and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

“Do you regret anything, Patrick?” Jonny asks quietly.

Patrick looks at Jonny and slowly approaches him. He puts his hand on Jonny’s neck and leans in and kisses him softly on his lips. When he pulls away, Jonny is looking at him with wide eyes.

“I regret never doing that, Jon. Why didn’t we ever try?” Patrick asks.

Jonny is immediately transported to their rookie season. They were both awkward teenagers who couldn’t pick up a girl to save their lives and with more hormones than brains. But, they never crossed the invisible line between them, no matter how close they came. Or, how much it seemed they wanted to. Jonny is pulled back into the present by Patrick’s voice.

“...when we won the cup, the first one. I wanted to kiss you so bad!”

Jonny had never lied to Patrick and wasn’t about to start now.

“Did you? I just couldn’t risk it, Patrick. I wanted you, too, but I just couldn’t. All I knew was that if it went bad, i would have lost you and that was unacceptable to me. I guess that was selfish. The truth is, if you had tried, I don’t know what I would had done. No, I know what I would have done. I would have said yes but I would have been scared the whole time.”

Patrick sighs and says “I know. The thought of possibly losing you stopped me, too. But, just always keep this thought—i wanted to climb you like a tree.”

Jonny starts to laugh and says “You are such an asshole. I love you, you motherfucker. C’mere!”

Jonny opens his arms and Patrick walks into them. Jonny pulls him close and says quietly “I will never have another friend like you. Thank you for being my friend through everything. “

Patrick says “Thank you for being my friend, Jonny. You stuck by me when everyone else thought the worst of me. I love you. And, I wouldn’t have wanted to do this without you.”

A quiet knock causes them to separate. Mark says through the door “Two minutes guys”.

Jonny says they will be right out. He looks at Patrick and leans in. “Can I?” he asks quietly. Patrick nods and Jonny kisses him as gently as Patrick kissed him earlier.

“You ready?” Jonny asks.

Patrick stands up straight, pulls back his shoulders, takes a deep breath and says “Kane and Toews ‘til the end.Let’s go get our numbers retired.”

Jonny, never able to let Patrick get the last word, pushes him out the door and says laughing “I think you meant Toews and Kane, right?”


End file.
